Cellular wireless communication is an increasingly popular means of personal communication in the modern world. People are using cellular wireless networks for the exchange of voice and data over cellular telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (“PDAs”), cellular telephone modems, and other devices. In principle, a cellular wireless user can seek information over the Internet or call anyone over a Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”) from any place inside the coverage area of the cellular wireless network.
An important feature of contemporary cellular wireless networks is the ability to locate the geographical position of a mobile station. Such a feature was developed initially to assist emergency services in locating a mobile station. For example, in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has mandated the implementation of “Enhanced 911” (“E911”) services.
The E911 mandate was divided into two phases. According to Phase 1, the location must be identified with an accuracy of at least cell and sector. As this information is typically maintained by a wireless cellular carrier in a subscriber's home location register (“HLR”), Phase 1 presents little technical challenge. According to Phase 2, the location must be provided with an accuracy of at least 100 meters (or 50 meters for handset-originated methods such as global position satellite (“GPS”) system), which is typically far more granular than the cell and sector information maintained in the HLR. In response, the Telecommunications Industry Association (“TIA”) has proposed a standard for “Enhanced Wireless 9-1-1, Phase 2,” or “TIA/EIA/IS-J-STD-036-A” (“J-STD-036-A”), the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In order to achieve the accuracy specified by Phase 2, a cellular wireless network may employ special position determining equipment and techniques. Alternatively, a mobile station itself may employ a position determining system, such as a GPS system, and may relay its position to the network, for reference by the emergency services. The emergency services may then use the position of the mobile station to help assist a user of the mobile station.
Cellular wireless carriers and third party application providers have recognized aspects of the commercial significance of this new-found location information, well beyond use of the information for emergency services. In particular, knowing where a mobile station is located, a service provider may now provide a wide range of valuable location-based services.
One such service is reporting the location of a mobile subscriber. For instance, when a mobile subscriber engages in a communication session with another party, the wireless carrier can determine the location of the mobile subscriber and notify the other party of the mobile subscriber's location. Typically, the wireless carrier maintains a list of pre-approved names that may receive the location of the mobile subscriber.
Methods of teleconferencing are also known. A conference call, or teleconference, is a telephonic connection among a number of participants located in different places. To conduct a teleconference, a conference bridge may be used. The conference bridge can reside in a telecommunications network and can function as a bridging or switching device between the participants to support the teleconference. The conference bridge can bridge together multiple communication sessions so that the conference call participants can confer with each other via the conference bridge.